1. Technical Field
This invention generally relates to a mounting of a child-restraint system in a vehicle. The invention has been devised in a relation to such mounting in a road vehicle, and will hereafter be described in such a context, but it will be appreciated the invention may be more broadly applicable to other vehicles.
2. Discussion
Safety considerations and, in some areas, legislation, encourage small children traveling in motor vehicles to be restrained by equipment designed specifically for this purpose. The safety belts or other appliances usually provided in motor vehicles for assisting the safety of adults traveling in the vehicle by restraining them and preventing them from being thrown about within the vehicle in the event of an accident are not suitable for restraining children smaller than a certain size. The item of equipment most commonly used for child-restraint in motor vehicles is a so-called xe2x80x9cchild""s safety seat,xe2x80x9d which is fitted in the vehicle in one of the seats thereof and provides seating accommodation of a size to accept a small child and is provided with restraining straps or the like to hold the child in the safety seat.
It is, of course, important that such a child""s safety seat should be securely held in position in the vehicle. Fixing of a safety seat by use of the safety belts provided for adult restraint is one currently acceptable method. Other methods to improve the current state of the art are always desirable, particularly in the area of safety. Accordingly, there is a desire to provide a seat of a vehicle with mounting means being sufficiently strong and rigid to hold the child-restraint system in place if the vehicle should suffer an accident. At the same time, the mounting means should not interfere with the comfort and/or convenience of the seat when it is not in use for securing a child-restraint system.
In particular, there is a draft international standard known as ISOFIX for standardized universal attachment of child-restraint systems to vehicles. ISOFIX Scheme D employs two lower rigid (or semi-rigid) anchorages in a defined area of the seat bight (i.e. the region of intersection of the surfaces of the seat cushion and backrest portions), and an additional anchorage for use with a tether strap. The lower anchorages are designed to be used with tether hooks, small push-button buckles, or ISOFIX connectors. The dimensions and disposition of the lower anchorages are specified in the ISOFIX standard.
It is broadly the object of the present invention to meet the above-described requirements as far as possible, in providing ISOFIX lower anchorages.
According to the one aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a vehicle including a seat and a mounting means for mounting a child-restraint system in relation to said seat, said mounting means comprising a base portion secured to the vehicle structure and/or seat and a mounting portion extending to an accessible position upon the seat and adapted for engagement by the restraint system, such mounting portion being able to be removed from its position upon the seat when it is not required to be used.
According to another aspect of the invention, the present invention provides a mounting means for mounting a child-restraint system in relation to a vehicle seat, including a base portion adapted to be secured in relation to the vehicle structure and a mounting portion adapted to extend to an accessible position upon the seat and removable from said position upon the seat when not required to be used.
Preferably, the base portion of the mounting means is connected or adapted for connection to the vehicle structure (e.g. the floor pan of the vehicle) beneath the lower end of a backrest portion of the seat and at the rear of a cushion portion of the seat, whilst the mounting portion is arranged to extend between the backrest and cushion portion of the seat for engagement by the restraint system above the rear of the cushion portion and at the bottom of the backrest portion, i.e. adjacent the bight of the seat.
The mounting portion may be completely removable from the base portion, or alternatively may be movably (e.g. pivotally) connected thereto so as to be movable between operative and stowed positions.
In the case of a mounting means whose mounting portion is completely removable from the base portion thereof, the portions may have engagement by a releasable fastening, for example of a type analogous to that used for the fastening buckles for vehicle safety belts. To engage the mounting portion to the base portion, the mounting portion may be simply pushed through the xe2x80x9cbight-linexe2x80x9d between the backrest and cushion portions of the seat until it cooperates with the base portion and snaps into engagement between the mounting and base portions. Removal may require operation of a catch-releasing element (e.g. a push-button) of the fastening means.
In the case of a mounting means whose mounting portion is pivotable relative to the base portion, which will in general be required to be used with a seat which is able to be folded. Such seats are characteristically used as the rear seats in passenger cars of the hatchback or estate car type but also in some saloon cars, and have a seat cushion portion which can be pivoted forwardly and upwardly about an axis adjacent its lower edge relative to the vehicle structure. When the cushion has been pivoted forwardly and upwardly, the mounting portion will be able to be moved either to or from its operative position in which it extends between the back and cushion portions of the seat, after which the seat cushion can be returned to its normal position. Preferably the mounting portion is pivotable forwardly and downwardly from its operative position to its stowed position, in which latter position it is disposed beneath a rear part of the seat cushion portion.
The mounting portion preferably affords two mounting elements in the form of anchorages of the configuration and disposition specified by ISOFIX, spaced laterally of the seat, for cooperation with corresponding fastening means on a child-restraint system.